Radiometric calibration of a multiphoton microscope capable of measuring absolute photon flux of single photon sources.

Precise photon flux measurement of single photon sources (SPSs) is essential to the successful application of SPSs. In this work, a novel method, to our knowledge, was proposed for direct measurement of the absolute photon flux of single photon sources with a femtosecond laser multiphoton microscope. A secondary 2-mm-diameter aperture was installed under the microscope objective to define the numerical aperture (NA) of the microscope. The defined NA was precisely measured to be 0.447. An LED-based miniaturized integrating sphere light source (LED-ISLS) was used as a standard radiance source to calibrate the photon flux responsivity of the multiphoton microscope, with the defined NA. The combined standard uncertainty of the measured photon flux responsivity was 1.97%. Absolute photon flux from a quantum-dot based emitter was measured by the multiphoton microscope. The uncertainty of the photon flux was evaluated to be 2.1%. This work offers a new, to our knowledge, radiometric method for fast calibration of photon flux responsivity of microscopes, and absolute photon flux calibration of single photon sources.

Charge accumulation resulting in metallization of II-VI semiconductor (ZnX X = O, S, Se) films neighboring polar liquid crystal molecules and their surface plasmonic response in the visible region.

The surfaces of some IIB-VI semiconductors (ZnX, X = O, S, Se) are metallized by neighboring highly polar and atomically vertically aligned (VA) liquid crystal (LC) molecules. Owing to polar catastrophe, the charge carriers swarm in an extremely thin layer and the density can achieve 4.86 × 1028 m-3 close to the LC layer, which can be regarded as a 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Using density functional theory (DFT), it was found that the dielectric functions of the modified layer become negative in the visible region. This indicates the semiconductor/LC platform is an ideal active plasmonic candidate, apart from the lossy metal constituents. Experimentally, after mediation with phase gratings written in the LC system, surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) can be excited at the semiconductor surface and localized charges are gathered in an adjacent LC layer. With the help of the enhanced static electric field from the metallic surface, significantly more 2D diffraction orders in many rows and columns and a huge energy transfer between the laser beams and SPPs was observed, which is consistent with the metallization results and the bidirectional coupling between the SPPs and incident lights. The generalization of the II-VI semiconductors means the system has great promise for use in practical applications owing to the ultra-low loss. The novel insights regarding this combination with liquid crystals will be beneficial for real-time holographic displays and the study of tunable epsilon near zero points.

Miniaturized integrating sphere light sources based on LEDs for radiance responsivity calibration of optical imaging microscopes.

LED-based integrating sphere light sources (LED-ISLSs) in the size of typical microscope slides were developed to calibrate the radiance responsivity of optical imaging microscopes. Each LED-ISLS consists of a miniaturized integrating sphere with a diameter of 4 mm, an LED chip integrated on a printed circuit board, and a thin circular aperture with a diameter of 1 mm as the exit port. The non-uniformity of the radiant exitance of the LED-ISLSs was evaluated to be 0.8%. The normal radiance of the LED-ISLSs in the range of (5∼69) W m-2 sr-1 was measured with a standard uncertainty of 1.3% using two precision apertures and a standard silicon photodetector whose spectral responsivity is traceable to an absolute cryogenic radiometer. The LED-ISLSs were applied to calibrate the radiance responsivity of a home-built optical imaging microscope with a standard uncertainty of 2.6∼2.9%. The LED-ISLSs offer a practical way to calibrate the radiance responsivity of various optical imaging microscopes for results comparison and information exchange.

Multi-frequency surface plasmons supported with a nanoscale non-uniform 2D electron gas formed due to a polar catastrophe at the oxide interface, dispersions, diffractions, and beyond.

Recently, 2D electron gases (2DEGs) formed at oxide interfaces are drawing increasing attention as they cause a myriad of intriguing phenomena. As ideal platforms in supporting surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) without metallic constituents, such 2DEGs are favorable in non-linear plasmonics for ultra-low total Joule dissipation. Convincingly, an increase in the interfacial electron density (IIED) formed at the interface of indium-tin-oxide and LiNbO3 composite slab is responsible for a number of interesting phenomena, which are hardly explained with the conventional photorefractive theoretical framework but can be satisfactorily elucidated via SPP excitation and resultant colossal non-linear effects. Since the polar-catastrophe-led IIED is universal to all combinations of highly polar ferroelectric oxides (FOs) and less polar transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), a systematic theoretical treatment of an FO/TCO system is pivotal to a variety of promising applications. In this study, the nanometer scale 2DEG at the FO/TCO interface is illustrated theoretically with the Thomas-Fermi screening picture, by taking into account the spontaneous polarization, along with related boundary conditions. The local plasma frequency of 2DEGs can be increased up to the UV regime for the composite slabs discussed, which are suitable for highly desirable visible applications. The SPP dispersion relationship was given for the 2DEG layer sandwiched between the FO slab and the unmodified TCO layer. To further take the non-uniform nature of IIED into account, dramatic dispersions of dielectric permittivity and index of refraction were simulated with a very broad range, hinting at different ways for meeting phase matching conditions and slowing the light for non-linear plasmonic applications, which are confirmed experimentally.

Plasmonically enhanced random lasing and weak localization of light in powdered Nd3+ doped lithium niobate and its spectral transformation.

We report surface plasmon enhanced random lasing action and weak localization owing to charge accumulation on the grain boundaries and its spectral transformation in powdered Nd3+ doped lithium niobate (Nd: LN) specimens. Accumulative charge density resulting from screening of electric field of spontaneous polarization was estimated, proving that surface plasmons (SPs) can be excited on the grain boundaries of powdered Nd: LN. The SP based scattering is believed responsible for random lasing to occur, which was further confirmed by the estimation of the scattering mean free path and the scattering cross section and intriguing three step-like backscattering reduction observed in the process of monitoring the variation of reflection spectrum with increasing pumping power. Under a certain pumping power, the powdered Nd: LN specimen was melted locally and this resulted in great changes in random lasing wavelengths. To delve into the reason behind these changes, photoluminescence spectra of the specimens were measured before and after melting. By taking a close look at their dynamics and slopes, it was found that spectral transformation of random lasing occurred owing to the change of lattice structure in powdered Nd: LN.

Accumulation-layer hybridized surface plasmon polaritions at an ITO/LiNbO3 interface.

To circumvent the hindrance to broad practical applications associated with uses of highly lossy metals in plasmonics, electrostatic modification-based low-loss structures are conceived and demonstrated in supporting surface plasmon polaritions (SPPs). Pairing a highly polar LiNbO3 (LN) slab with a nonpolar indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin film, a subnanometer ITO layer was modified into visible SPPs supportive owing to electrostatic screening; yet a theoretical treatment of a sandwiched structure with a sub-nanometer interlayer and an anisotropic substrate is still missing. In this Letter, a hybridized SPP supporting picture was drawn in the ITO/LN system, which agrees well with the 2D diffraction patterns observed out of phase gratings written with two coherent laser beams either of pure-extraordinary, pure-ordinary, or mixed polarizations. This platform of ITO/LN is promising in designing hybridized SPP-based devices in which the parasitic scattering of surface waves may be suppressed greatly.

Broadband Perfect Absorber Based on TiN-Nanocone Metasurface.

Based on an integrated array of refractory titanium nitride (TiN), a metasurface perfect absorber (MPA) in the visible-to-near infrared (NIR) band is reported. The systematic and detailed simulation study of the absorption of the MPA is performed with the finite-different time-domain (FDTD) method. Tailoring the structure, the MPA realizes as high an average as 99.6% broadband absorption, ranging from 400 nm to 1500 nm. The broadband perfect absorption can be attributed to localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR), excited by the continuous diameter evolution from the apex to the base of the nanocone, and the gap plasmons excited among the nanocones, as well as in the spacer layer at longer wavelengths. Particularly, the coupling of the resonances is essentially behind the broadening of the absorption spectrum. We also evaluated the electric field intensity and polarization-dependence of the nanocone MPA to offer further physical insight into light trapping capability. The MPA shows about 90% average absorption even at an oblique incidence up to 50°, which improves the acceptance capability of light-harvesting system applications. This unique design with the TiN nanocone array/aluminium oxide (Al2O3)/TiN structure shows potential in imminent applications in light trapping and thermophotovoltaics.